Rather than going the route of a salvage car and then trying to convert it to a race car, I'd suggest watching for a good used race car. Peter Zekert has a "foster" car program where you can have the car to use for free as long as you race it and maintain it. There are also some very good deals on used IT cars that come along. If your primary interest is in racing, get a complete car usually with spares. If your interest is building a race car, then I don't see a problem starting with a salvage car. That said, since there is only so much you can do with a race car and seam welding was illegal in IT, a repaired salvage car may not be legal or worse straight. Cheers